Problems, Akatsuki MultiShots
by Kagura Hale
Summary: What's more devastating, more frustrating, than an issue you don't know how to deal with? One that puts you and your lover on an emotional roller coaster. How do you cope with something like that?
1. Anger, Hidan

She had had it, this was the last straw. She hadn't asked for any of this, she wasn't ready for any of this. Now here she was—dealing with the very problem she had wanted to avoid. It wasn't like she meant for any of it to happen, it wasn't like she planned on it. Yet… it had happened. Here she was, facing it.

And apparently he didn't want anything to do with it at the moment.

He needed time to _think_. What crap that was…

Right now, all she could focus on was dealing with the problem at hand, finding a way to cope with it. But however she was going to do that, she didn't know. This was a troublesome situation, a unique one, one she didn't have experience with. It frustrated her to great extents because of that simple fact. She could personally slaughter a dozen men without trouble—it was what she was good at, it was what she did—but _this_… she didn't have a clue what to do. She'd almost prefer to be in a situation where she had to kill someone rather than deal with this.

But it was entirely his fault… that's what she kept telling herself anyway.

Right now she was taking her anger out on a tree she trained with. It had so many nicks and scratches on it that you could tell she really trained her. At the moment she was just throwing punches at it, angry ones too. Not that they really made too much of a difference to the overall look of the battered tree. They were clumsy throws anyway; she was on the verge of crying so she couldn't concentrate.

**"You jerk…"** She breathed as a single crystal tear rode down her porcelain skin and fell as it reached the bottom of her chin. Her breathing was heavy, her knuckles bruised as well as the rest of her hands were. Of all the people to have this happen to, she didn't expect it to be her. She didn't want it to be her. It's not that she hadn't thought of it before, she just wasn't ready for it. And hell, he wasn't ready for it either, that much was evident and as plain as day.

Yet despite that very well known fact, what could either of them do about it? Nothing.

She felt, rather than heard, someone approaching from behind and quickly turned on her heels to see Itachi Uchiha standing about thirty meters from her [about 90 feet]. Quickly, she wiped the tears from her stained face and calmed her breathing as he approached.

"Out here all alone again?" He said in the emotionless voice he so favored. She just made a tactless comment in response about how she didn't want to be back in the hideout. She didn't _need_ to be in the hideout.

_He_ was there after all…

And for all either cared, they needed their space at the moment. They needed _a lot_ of space at the moment. But, they were both hardheaded, stubborn. What they _really_ needed was to work it out with each other. Staying away from one another was just making it worse, not that either noticed.

"You really should go talk to him, Pandora." Itachi said, his eyes showing a minute amount of worry. He was probably one of her closest friends aside from Hidan, but—then again—Hidan was her problem at the moment.

Pandora turned back around to the tree and threw a light punch at it once more, saying to Itachi that she'd do it later. She could hear his sigh from behind her and knew that he probably saw this whole dilemma as foolish. But, at the moment, she didn't care.

He wasn't the one who was pregnant.

Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw Itachi walking away—no longer trying to convince her to go talk to Hidan. It seems that after probably the twelfth time he'd given up. And, although she was stubborn and wouldn't admit it, he was right; she did need to talk to him. That wasn't to say that she wanted to. In fact, she loathed the thought of even going in there and facing him.

Back when she had first told Hidan that she was pregnant, he had sort of blown up in her face. He seemed almost angry about it as he stormed out of their bedroom and out of the hideout—later her finding out that he had mercilessly killed almost a whole village. Not that the villagers were what worried her, what worried her was the question of 'would Hidan leave her'?

Those four words haunted her over the next two weeks up until now. She feared them more than anything. Sure, she was a Jashinist and they weren't supposed to be afraid of anything, but this wasn't a matter of sacrificing someone or performing a deed Jashin needed done. No, this was a matter of life not death, and life in the form of a small child, one that neither of them knew if they were ready to take on.

For Hidan, he probably _really_ wasn't ready to take on any kind of parental responsibilities. He was just one of those guys that—from the start of meeting him—you could just tell that he didn't want kids. He didn't seem like a guy who would have kids even if he did want them, it just didn't suit him. So, Pandora being pregnant was like their worlds being turned upside down. A lot more for him than her though.

The hour grew late and the moon—full and beautiful—had already begun its climb across its dark blue bed spotted with glimmering silver spots. It was like a monotonous and dreary little orb as it grazed the ever darkening sky, the sun—below the horizon—casting one last explosion of orange and light pink light into the sky before waking up the other side of the planet.

It wasn't until it was completely dark that Pandora realized the hour and dropped down to her knees as she took a breath. She then sat down, leaning her back against the tree, and hugged her knees to her chest as she took a moment to relax before going back to the hideout. Subconsciously, she smiled when she thought about going to bed—Hidan beside her—but then she scowled as she realized what she was thinking. He probably wouldn't even be there anyway, or if he was, he'd be sleeping. It wasn't like she expected him to wait up for her to get back for them to go to bed together. And that, somehow, made her feel a little sad.

Their relationship together was so complicated… but she loved him dearly despite their arguments.

Pandora lowered her head as she rested the top of it on her knees and shut her eyes for a brief moment to clear her mind. It was about then that she heard the footsteps, heavy footsteps that broke the autumn leaves underfoot.

Immediately she shot her head up and looked in front of her. At the sight of who was in front of her, her heart started racing and she felt her stomach turn in knots. She didn't know why she felt so nervous; she'd known him ever since he brought her to the Akatsuki, so why did she feel this way? It wasn't like he was nervous. No, when he was angry, he didn't have time to feel nervous. Though regardless of that thought, she felt a twinge of doubt crawl through her mind the closer he got.

Eventually Hidan was standing right in front of her with an expression she couldn't really read in the dark with the moon as the only light. He was looking to the side, his hands stuffed in his pant pockets as he didn't really say anything at first.

"Um…" He started awkwardly "…hey…" Pandora just looked up at him and gave a similar greeting; the whole situation was making her feel uncomfortable however. He then rubbed the back of his head as he sighed, asking not but a few moments later if she was going to come to bed—it was past midnight.

**"I don't know…"** She said at length as her gaze left his figure and she suddenly found a lot of interest in the grass underneath her. She then heard the shuffle of movement and an instant later Hidan was sitting at her side; one leg relaxed straight out and then other bent as he rested his arm on the top of his knee.

"Look, I know that I've been sort of… grumpy lately—" He then heard her cough and a small smirk crawled onto his face. "Alright, more like I've been extremely pissed off, but you get the picture." Then he looked over at her with a blank expression, her eyes still didn't meet his however. "It's just… this kid… you don't really want it do you?" She then looked up at him and their eyes locked. He almost thought that he saw a pained look in her eyes but it was gone almost as soon as he noticed it so he didn't know if his mind was simply playing tricks on him.

**"I just… I don't know, Hidan."** She said **"This was sort of an accident but there's really no getting out of it now…"** He nodded slowly as he looked over the clearing on front of them, knowing that a little farther—behind the trees—was the hideout.

Silence stretched before them for what seemed like hours, long hours, but was really only a couple minutes. Hidan didn't want kids, it wasn't exactly a dream he had. That and the fact that they were both Jashinists would really get in the way of being good parents. It was at that thought that he started to chuckle to himself, earning him a questioning look from Pandora, followed by her question as to what he found so funny.

"If we have this kid, Pandora, you know how messed up it's going to be when it gets older?" He said and she let out a soft giggle at his words. "He or she would grow up around murder—lots of murder—and that's kind of all they'd know. Being the kid of two Jashinists isn't really any kind of good life or environment for a little one. It's just kind of funny to think of how the kid's personality would be when they grew up." He then started chuckling more but Pandora seemed to come to a sort of realization at his words.

**"What about adoption?"** She said suddenly and Hidan looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Adoption?" It wasn't really something either of them had thought about. But, with it being out in the open now, it was something that they were both really considering now. Let's face the facts; neither of them wanted kids, Hidan especially—Pandora wouldn't mind but it didn't mean she wanted to start a family. Besides, it would take up their whole lives to be parents.

They didn't want that.

"I think," Hidan started, his expression one of deep thought "That that might actually be a really great fucking idea!" Pandora looked at him with a smile as she nodded in agreement. "Well just dump the kid on some poor sucker and be good." At that, Pandora had to raise her own eyebrow at him.

"**That's a really harsh way of putting it."** She said. Hidan only shrugged as he stood up and then offered his hand to her.

"Whatever, now come on, let's go to bed." A smirk then spread across his face "It's been two weeks since you and I have had a good fucking night together."

Pandora laughed "I mention adoption and suddenly you want to get straight to it?" She then laughed more "Need I remind you that that's how we got in this predicament in the first place?"

She merely brushed aside her words as she took his hand and stood up. "You're pregnant, you can't get pregnant while you already are. Besides, if you think a little sea monster sleeping in your belly is going to stop me from making you scream my name you got another thing coming. Now get in the damn room woman!" Pandora started laughing more as she started running from him back to the hideout. Her long blood red hair sawing behind her as Hidan chased her with a desiring fire in his eyes.

From there, everything seemed to get better. The couple wasn't angry at each other, though the rest of the Akatsuki members didn't think that would last too long—how wrong they were. And as for the nameless kid—a boy—they did give him up for adoption. Well… Pandora did. Pein or Leader, didn't think it was wise for Hidan to be there during the transaction, being a very noticeable person of the Akatsuki after all, so Pandora had to do it alone. Though when she came back, although she held a sort of sad look, she was happy. The baby was in better, more caring hands and would grow up a lot better than he would have with her and Hidan.

Although, for the next couple of weeks while Pandora got back into shape, Hidan teased her about her _'old woman'_ figure. She merely glared at him and threatened him to carry a baby for nine months and come out looking like a model before tackling him to the ground. He simply replied that he would be the sexiest person alive if he were able to do such a thing and she would just be jealous that he would come out looking like a model in the end. Pandora only rolled her eyes at him as she kissed him and then thumped him on the head before getting up and walking away.

He would watch her go though, chasing after her slender, hour glass figure a moment later.


	2. Sorrow, Itachi

The night was cold, it was mid autumn so what else would you expect, especially being up in the mountains, that didn't really help the freezing bite that the wind had as it blew in a gentle, ever constant flow over the land. As a cold blanket putting animals and plants alike into their deep slumbers, just as it always happened every year when winter came around.

Atop the mountain sat a dojo of a sort, it was a traditional Japanese residence—completely made with the skill of origami. No tools had been used in the making of the beautiful place; it was simply created by the hands of a master in the technique of origami.

Inside the dojo was a young woman, meditating. Her legs were crossed and her hands rested on her knees, her eyes closed as her breathing was even. It wasn't everyday that she got to just have a moment to herself, resting, in a peaceful environment. In fact, her line of work usually kept her away from places like this—a lot in fact.

As the girl sat there, in the middle of one of the large rooms within the dojo—meditating—she came to realize how long it had been since she had had a moment to herself. Nearly two years… That was quite a bit of time, she more than deserved to be alone right now. Though despite her efforts to try and remain in a peaceful attitude, she realized that having time to herself really just made it all come back.

She found her mind wandering to dark places of her memory, places she'd tried time and time again to forget. However, there was nothing to interrupt her thought process here, nothing to prevent her mind from wandering. She was in a sacred place—her home—all alone. Her grandfather had actually built this place, used to train students in it too. It was more of a home than a dojo though, but it was used as both.

The girl's mind wandered to her darkest secrets. Secrets that, if she shared them, there's no way she would be accepted into society. They were dark, menacing memories—in the past, of course, but there nonetheless. She couldn't rid herself of them and she regretted them ever moment of her life. The only one who really tried to cheer her up, tried to pull her out of her rut, was Itachi…

Itachi Uchiha.

Not that he was there now to do exactly that. No, she was on her own this time. She was going to have to face her darkest fears, the evil half of her that had lived in her past. And, for someone in her position, she couldn't handle facing them. They put her in a deep rut… a painful depression.

It wasn't that she wanted to be that way, her past had just molded her into the person she was now. And, although she had been one hell of a demon child, she was the nicest person now. To those who _really_ got to know her, they loved her. Of course there were still those who were wary of her, who feared her, who were plain terrified of her, but they didn't know her. They knew her past, they didn't know who she was, couldn't understand what she had gone through as a child.

Had they experienced the same, she doubted they would come out any different than she.

If anything, they'd be worse.

As a child she had experience the cruelest attention. She had been trained in the ways of a ninja her whole life, but she wasn't taught the morals and ethics of it, no, she was taught simply how to fight and obey orders given to her. What good were morals and ethics in her life? If her father held a deep hatred for someone, he sent her to take care of it—even as a child—there was no room for compassion.

There was no room for weakness…

If you were weak, to her father, you were as good as dead. You followed orders or you followed footsteps that led to your grave. Everything was as simple as that, no questions asked. She didn't live under his roof to ask questions, she did so to follow his orders strictly and to the letter.

Not that that meant she agreed with them.

The girl looked around the dark room she was in, the scented candles burning with dim light in front of her, smelling of cinnamon. She stared, fixated, at them. Her life was no different than the flame of a fire; kept under control it was harmless and helpful. But left to its own devices… it was dangerous.

Had Itachi not found her in the forest on the edges of the Land of Fire that day… she'd most likely be far worse off than she was now. _**Probably murdering helpless innocents**_, she thought to herself as she stood up after blowing out the candles. She then walked out of the room and down the now dark hallway—it being night—and made her way to the small kitchen for a glass of water.

Taking the glass outside with her, she sat on the porch of her home that wrapped around the whole building, and simply admired the moon. Her feet dangled off the edge of the porch as she swung them back and forth. Her very long blue-black hair swaying in the breeze along with the royal purple kimono she was wearing.

Her feet were bare aside from some socks as they swung back and forth, making her look a bit childish. She wasn't a child though; she had in fact just turned twenty one last month. Not that she had celebrated it, it was simply another day that passed by. That wasn't to say that a couple of her friends hadn't tried to coax her into going out for a night in the town, drinking their hearts away. It didn't matter to her though, life was just like a countdown and when the timer reached zero… well, then your time was up.

Plus, birthdays always made her think of her past—where she had come from to get where she was—and they weren't exactly pleasant memories. So, she tended to at least _try_ to stay away from everyone around her birthday, attempting to hibernate somewhere until the day had passed.

She wasn't _too_ successful at that though. In fact, rarely did she ever succeed at it. Two years ago had been the last time she had.

The girl let out a sigh as she looked out in front of her. Everything seemed so peaceful, despite the wars that waged over these lands long ago, even despite the fact that more would come, nature didn't seem to care. It just keeps growing like it always had and always will. In fact, nature relied on the disasters. Maybe not the tragic ones like wars, but forest fires and things of that type… yes. Without the ability to start anew, there's no room for improvement. No room for growth.

"I thought I might find you here." A familiar voice said from behind the girl. Immediately she turned to look behind her, her body tense, but then saw who the _'intruder' _was and relaxed. She then turned back around and ignored him as she stared up at the speckled sky of blue, black and silver.

The footsteps grew closer and soon Itachi was sitting right next to her, admiring the sky with her. They had been friend for a long time, before he killed his clan and before she had… '_ran away'_ from her home. They weren't exactly close knit back then but they knew each other well enough and were close enough to call each other friends.

Wherever they were now in their relationship, however, she didn't know. It was complicated…

"You really shouldn't be outside like that," Itachi said gesturing to her thin clothes that most likely weren't keeping out the chilly autumn air. "You'll catch a cold, Amaria." She merely shook her head.

"**I'm not worried about that."** She said as she brushed her hair behind one of her ears. Of course the Uchiha noticed right away that the top of her hear was already turning a bright red from the cold.

Regardless the fact that he knew she was going to protest, Itachi stood up and picked Amaria up bridal style as he carried her inside. She tried to get out of his grasp, telling him to put her down that instant, but he ignored her and just shut the door behind him as he walked into the main room—the living room—of the place.

He set her down at the kotatsu in the middle of the room—low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits—and then left into the kitchen to make some tea. Amaria sighed as he put her legs under the table and pulled the blanket over them so that she stayed warm, resting her arms then on the table. She had both arms crossed as she laid her head on top of them and looked in the direction of the kitchen. She saw only the lower half of Itachi's body as the flaps hanging from the top of the door frame constricted her view otherwise.

A moment of so later, Itachi came out with two cups of hot tea, the little wiggling waves of steam rising up from the liquid as Amaria took her cup. It felt good just to hold it against her cold hands but taking a sip said a wave of heat through her body that felt even more amazing-not that she would have admitted to the man beside her that she really had been quite cold outside.

"Feeling better?" Itachi asked with a smirk as he looked over her features.

She sent a glare his way at his snide comment. **"I wasn't cold, but thank you."** She added as an almost subconscious after thought. He nodded at her and they made idle talk for a while before Itachi brought up a painful subject, not really realizing that he had though.

"How are you holding up? You were pretty depressed the last time I saw you." Amaria just looked away from him and down at her tea cup that she was holding against the table top.

"**I'm fine, Itachi."** She said at length, gazing into the contents of her cup. From the corners of her eyes though, she saw him shaking his head.

"I know you're not." Was his simple reply before he took another sip of the tea he was holding. The silence stretched before them at his words, neither willing to be the first to break it. It wasn't that Itachi had been right that had really got to Amaria, it was that he always seemed to be able to read her like an open book. Was she really that predictable?

"**Itachi…"** Amaria said as she looked up and their eyes locked.** "What… what do you think of me?" **He didn't really know how to answer her question, not knowing what kind of answer she was looking for. Before he could ask what she meant, however, she went on to explain on her own. **"Do you… think I'm as bad as everyone says?"** She asked **"All the villagers, they're all terrified of me for something that I'm not anymore…" **

Then she felt strong arms wrap around her and pull her against a toned chest. She hadn't even seen Itachi move but now he was close to her and hugging her. She didn't know why, but that hug meant more to her than any kind of words he could have said.

He seemed to know that too.

"Amaria," He started. "I would never think of you like that. The villagers are just scared of what happened in the past, they don't know how to move forward. Don't let them get to you okay?" At first she gave no response to his words, but then he felt her shaking against his body and he looked down at her face, brushing her dark blue-black hair behind her ear, to see that she was crying. Her ocean blue eyes were glazed over and shut tight as she gripped at his Akatsuki robe and cried into it. In response, Itachi merely held her tighter and made soft noises to try to calm her down and tell her everything was alright.

Normally Amaria didn't break down like this, she didn't like appearing _weak_ in front of anyone, it made her feel vulnerable. That was something she had been taught as a child that was _unacceptable_ and punishable. Yet… it didn't feel wrong to be crying into Itachi's chest.

It felt… right…

After a long moment, Amaria finally pulled away but not too much. She looked up at Itachi and wrapped her arms around his neck as she hugged him properly before kissing his cheek and thanking him for being there for her. In return, he simply smiled at her and said that he'd always be there for her.

No matter what.

Their eyes were locked and Amaria noticed that their faces seemed to be getting closer and closer. Then, it happened…

Itachi kissed her.

Fireworks went off in her head at the touch of his lips to her's. It was a feeling, a desire, she had wanted for a while now. Over the last few months she noticed that she started seeing Itachi in a different light, one that held stronger feelings for him. He was able to make her blush in the weirdest situations that she usually wouldn't blush in. Her heart pounded against her chest at the thought of being around him and butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, turning it in knots, every time he was around. Though that only happened every now and then. For the most part, the two were close enough to where feelings like that didn't really come in, they were comfortable around each other. But the occasional time did come around where it did happen and Amaria often found herself wondering why.

Now here they were, lips locked in a passionate struggle as all the feelings they held towards each other finally came out in the open. It was bliss and Amaria didn't want it to go away.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss, she felt Itachi's smirk against her lips. In his turn he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to his body. Time passed by slowly, neither of them caring, but soon they had to pull away for air.

Amaria smiled, a real smile, one she hadn't shown in a long time, and stared into Itachi's eyes. He gave her a little half smile and pulled her into his lap as his arms were around her waist and his chin rested on her shoulder.

She felt safe in his arms, comfortable, it just felt right.


	3. Happiness, Tobi

The Hideout was nothing special, just a place that S-class criminals spent their free time at. Of course it was also considered their home what with them living there and all. Not that that really mattered, it wasn't like anyone was purposefully looking for their hideout… at the moment…

It was overcast in the middle of the autumn day, a thin layer of fog covered the nearby pond and a little of the forest that was close by. It wasn't uncommon for weather like this; in fact it was more of a relief when the weather was like this. It kept the secret of the hideout safe and also, the glare of the sun wasn't much to brag about.

Besides, no one really wanted to be outside anyway. Well… except for a certain girl.

Down by the pond, a girl with platinum blonde, almost white hair sat by the bank as she drew little circles in the water with her index finger. She liked the outdoors, the aura of nature, it was calming. She had grown up in the outdoors anyway so to stay cooped up inside wasn't really her ideal way of spending her time. That wasn't to say that she never went inside, she did in fact. She lived in the hideout so how could she not? But she liked to spend as much time as she could outside, by herself usually. She could only take so much of certain Akatsuki members anyhow.

As she sat by the water, she watched as small fish swam around and fled from her as she dipped her fingers in the water and swirled them around. This pond was full of coy fish and she enjoyed watching them. It was peaceful, a nice break from Hidan's swearing and Kakuzu's constant complains on how much he hated his partner. Couldn't they just get along?

She did with her partners.

Of course she still dealt with the occasional irritation and frustration of her two partners' attitudes. Especially Deidara's… _'Tobi'_ not so much but that was only because she knew his secrets and… well… they were sort of a couple, and had been for the last year or almost a year. It had been ten months so far.

The girl smiled to herself, she could still remember how scared and shocked she had been the first time she realized who Tobi was… that dark and mysterious side of him. Not too long after that he had asked her to be his girlfriend but it had been a very awkward moment full of blushing and long silence. Regardless, she still saw it as one of her most precious memories.

How often did she get to see _Madara_ act so cute like that?

The fish continued to swim around in the pond and two had actually swum over to her as they followed her finger in their own little circles. One was fully black with a large white circle around its left eye and the other was a pale grey with a black circle around its left eye. Oddly enough, they reminded the girl of the yin-yang symbol as they swam around.

It only added to the peaceful atmosphere though.

She hadn't even seen it coming, hadn't heard the person's approach, but the next thing she knew was that she was being tackled to the ground and had almost fallen into the pond. The person who attacked her didn't even say sorry as they got up, grabbed her hand, and then pulled her along as they started running again. At first she tried getting away but as the person looked over their shoulder at her, she realized who it was and then started running faster to keep up with him and not trip.

Tobi said a quick hello and said that he would explain everything later but that his life, at the moment, depended on him running. The girl looked at him curiously and then looked over her own shoulder to see a furious Deidara on their trail, steam practically coming out of his ears as his face was bright red with rage. It actually scared her to the point where she almost tripped, but just as her foot hit the uplifted root, Tobi grabbed her by the arm and swinger her onto his back as he ran faster. He was holding her tightly with his hands under her thighs and her hands holding onto his shoulders.

Looking behind them she saw that Deidara was slowly getting smaller and smaller until Tobi jumped into the trees of the forest and suddenly the blonde was lost from her sight completely. She sighed almost subconsciously in relief but Tobi didn't slow down yet. No he ran a little faster, the world passing by in a hazy blur, and only stopped when he reached a small clearing where he felt the 'danger' couldn't find them.

Setting the girl down, he fell to his back as he took in deep breaths and relaxed. She giggled at him and made a snide comment about how the 'great Madara' was running away from a fight. He glared at her and grabbed her ankle as she was standing next to him, and tipped her as he quickly got on top of her and held her down.

"Tobi wasn't running from any fight!" He said as he stared intently into her hazel eyes. "Tobi was just scared by Sempai's angry look after Tobi broke was of his new creations. Miharu-chan shouldn't make such mean assumptions of Tobi."

The girl, Miharu, giggled at _'Tobi'_. She knew he was simply putting on airs for everyone, but with her knowing the truth about him, knowing that deeper side of himself with that sexy, manly voice… this Tobi side of him just made her laugh.

It was so childish.

"**I'm sorry **_**Tobi**_**,"** Miharu said lying extra stress on his name **"I wasn't trying to hurt your feelings." **She then gave him a pouty look and she heard a deep chuckle come from his real voice. Then, removing his mask, she saw that handsome face of his only inches from her own.

"You're really enjoying this aren't you?" He asked in his regular voice. "You're not the one who has to act like a little child, running around with a lack of maturity."

"**You don't have to either, you know?"** She said as she tilted her head to the side, giving him a cute look. **"This is only something you're doing to yourself."** He then gave her a devious smile as he kissed her slowly.

"Ah, but my dear, you forget why I have to do this. I have plans for the world; this is a small price to pay for my victory that will come later."

She smiled at him as she stared into his dark eyes. Sometimes she wondered what drove Madara to want to conquer everything but he had his own motives his own reasons and if he hadn't told them to her yet then he just wasn't ready to tell her or he didn't want to tell her. She could respect that; this was a dream he had had long before she came along so she didn't want to ruin it for him. She might be willing to even help him go through with it were he willing to let her in on his plans but he hadn't so all she could do was stand on the sidelines and watch and wait. She didn't know how things were going to unfold, this was all a play of cards; Madara holding the winning hand—or at least, confident enough to where he believed he was.

Fate had an interesting way of turning things out.

The two lay there in the grass as they stared up at the mass of grey that was the sky. In the distance Miharu could hear the roll of thunder as it crawled closer through the air. It was going to rain soon, but this was one of the few times that she got to be with her boyfriend—the real side of him—and she didn't want to pass it up. So she challenged the rain to come, she wasn't leaving until Madara wanted to leave.

They talked for a while, laughing a bit together as they discussed odd things here and there. It wasn't awkward; there was no long stretch of silence. That is, until they both ran out of things to say and just enjoyed each other's company.

Miharu took her chance then to cuddle closer to the man she had fallen for and in turn he wrapped his arms around her as they lay there. At first everything seemed abnormally quiet as the thunder stopped for what seemed like a moment too long. But then, just a few seconds later, the rain started to pour. Not that either of them moved just because the sky was throwing water at them.

A wide smirk spread across Madara's face at that instant as he looked over to the girl in his arms. Her platinum blonde-white hair was clinging to her face and her hazel eyes looked almost yellow in the uncertain light. She was beautiful though, he always thought that of her, though he had a hard time expressing it out loud.

In one swift movement, he released his arms around her and rolled on top of her as she looked up at him with a look he found irresistible. She was like a doll, that's the only way he could really explain how cute he found her.

Pressing his lips to her's softly he held her hands above her head as the atmosphere grew to be really romantic. When he pulled away from her to let them both breathe she whispered how happy she was into his ear before pulling away one of her hands and cupping his face as she kissed him passionately.

She knew that being with Madara would be complicated, especially down the road when he runs into trouble, but she was willing to deal with all of that. It would be worth it if she could be with him. At the moment she saw it as too soon to say that she loved him, but down the road she knew that she'd be saying it.

He too, if he was man enough to do so.

And at that thought, she smiled and inwardly laughed as she kissed him again in the rain, them both still lying there in the grass.


	4. Fear, Kakuzu

It the shroud of the morning mist, a young woman approached the imperial palace that sat proudly on the land she called her home. Upon entering the palace, she was greeted by several of the Emperor's servants who told her she was not to approach within one-hundred paces of the throne unless instructed otherwise. Nodding at this information she entered through the main doors and stopped a hundred paces from the throne as she went down to her knees and bowed.

In truth, she was here for such a menial thing, yet it required the attention of the Emperor. Mentally, she told herself that she really was making this more important than it should be. Yet, regardless of what her instincts were telling her, she didn't want to listen to them. She couldn't listen to them.

"So, you are the one they call Flying Snow." The Emperor said, sitting on his throne with a thousand candles sitting in front of him on a set of steps.

**"My name is Izumi Saruwatari, your majesty."** She said with another bow "That other name… is nothing more than the role I play as a ninja of the Land of Lightning here in Kumogakure."

The Emperor nodded, "A fitting name for the prized ninja of this village. Now tell me child, why have you come before me today?"

**"I have come to make a request."** The Emperor then looked at Izumi with mild curiosity and gestured for her to go on and explain this request of her's. She took a deep breath to clear her thoughts and not let her better judgment get in the way of what she really wanted here. She had planned this out for too long for her to back down now.

**"Your Majesty…"** She started as she looked ahead of her to Emperor sitting on his throne. **"I request to leave the village. I would like to go on a mission I have made for myself… to avenge my older brother, Shigehito."**

"Avenge… Child revenge is never the answer."

**"You do not understand your majesty; this is something I must do. If I do not… my soul will never be at peace!"**

The Emperor nodded his understanding at Izumi's plea and a long silence stretched between them as he contemplated her request. He did not doubt that she would return alive from her mission but it was letting her go that was the issue. Her heart was filled with hatred towards her brother's murderer and as such, letting her go would mean she would not learn what it really meant to be a ninja; to show compassion and mercy where others would not. True, the deed would be finished… but her heart would not be at peace.

Murdering another for the sake of murder made her no better than her brother's killer. As such, the Emperor thought it best to keep her in the village. Then the thought of her running away on her own popped up into his head and a realization came to him.

She was here for the formality of asking to leave. However, whether with his approval or not she would leave anyway.

This was simply something she had to do.

With one last moment to think things over the Emperor then gave out a short sigh as he then told her that she could go. A wide smile spread across her face as she bowed once more before getting up and leaving. That had gone a lot better than she had expected. She hadn't thought that he would actually let her go.

She packed up a few supplies before heading out of Kumogakure and making her way in search of Shigehito's killer. Whether it took her days or years, she would find this person and they were going to pay for what they had done.

Izumi didn't quite understand why, out of all people, her brother had been chosen to die. He was a simple ninja of the Land of Lightning, a loyal servant to the Emperor. Yet it had happened. What made her brother so unique to stand out like that? What brought the desire for someone to kill him? It just wasn't fair.

Why her brother?

As the days wore on, Izumi found herself approaching a small village in the Land of Fire: Konohagakure. She doubted the murderer would be here but it wouldn't hurt to look. After all, she had seen the killer's face when it happened, had been there as her brother fell lifeless to the ground at her feet, and as such, she would have no problem locating him in a crowd. The murderer's face was engraved in her memory and she wouldn't forget it any time soon.

Entering the village she was greeted by some guards before walking further in, her Kumogakure ninja headband hanging loosely around her neck. She received odd glances here and there from people as she passed by but she never gazed their way. She was focused on her mission and as such didn't have time to deal with the tense atmosphere that followed her. She wasn't here to stay after all, what did it matter if people didn't consider her welcome? They'd just have to deal with her presence for a bit longer.

Whether they liked it or not.

After several hours had passed and Izumi found no indication that the person she was looking for had been here or was here, she set off, leaving Konohagakure. She wandered aimlessly for days trying to find clues, asking people she passed by if they had seen who she was looking for. The answer was always the same though: no.

Izumi was getting tired of wandering, was tired of looking, she just wanted this mission over and done with so she could go home. As she walked down a side road through the forest an image of her brother popped up into her head and she fell to her knees as she shut her eyes closed tight to prevent herself from crying. She didn't have time for this, she needed to keep moving.

"Aw look at the poor thing." A male voice said in a cocky tone "We should put her out of her misery."

"Don't be rash Hidan!" Another male voice said… oddly familiar too. "We're not out here for her, leave her be!"

"It's one girl, Kakuzu! Calm the fuck down! No one's going to notice if she's gone." Then a sigh followed his words.

"We don't have time for this."

That was it; Izumi recognized who that was after that. His voice was so familiar so recognizable. When she looked up and saw them standing before her, her eyes widened as she mentally said to herself that she found him; her brother's killer.

Without thinking, Izumi drew a kunai and got up as she ran towards the one called Kakuzu, blood lust in her eyes. Both men were startled by her speed, to having expected her to come charging at them so suddenly.

Hidan made some stupid comment about how he 'told him that they should have killed her when they had the chance', but Izumi wasn't really paying attention. She just wanted Kakuzu's head on a spike. This was the moment she had been waiting for and now it was here.

Not that her determination made the fight any easier…

The battle wore on for nearly half an hour with neither Izumi not Kakuzu winning. Hidan had decided that since she wasn't after him he'd just sit back and watch. Besides, how often did the time come along when he got to see Kakuzu in peril?

Trying to reach her clouded mind, Kakuzu asked who she was as he blocked an attack and then asked why she wanted to kill him. Izumi merely shook her head as she yelled what a murder he was and that she wanted to kill him for her brother. Realization dawning on the man with stitches, Kakuzu knew who she was now and a smirk smeared across his face.

Today just got a lot more interesting.

Although, he did explain to her why he killed him; her brother had been on his bounty list and that was the only reason. It only infuriated her more, however. But it also terrified her. The more she fought this guy the more scared she felt. Fear now crawled over and through her body as she looked at him.

The demonic look in his eyes, sharing her bloodlust.

It terrified her…

Izumi smiled at the memory. It had been three years since then and she found it silly how reckless she had been. She laughed, look at her now. She was a part of the Akatsuki, Hidan and Kakuzu were still alive, and in fact… her and Kakuzu… well, we'll just say she didn't hate him as much anymore.

Or at all.

Sitting on one of the couches in the lounge of the Akatsuki hideout, Izumi read over a scroll that she and Kakuzu had confiscated a couple days ago. It wasn't much to look at but it held secrets that were valuable to the Akatsuki. Mainly jutsu secrets.

Most of the other members were off on missions at the moment so Izumi had some time to enjoy the peace and quiet…

"I am back bitches!" Hidan yelled as he slammed the front door back and walked into the hideout. Izumi sighed, so much for her peace and quiet, and with that she rolled the scroll up and retied the red ribbon around it as she got up to walk back to her room to put it away. Well… her _and_ Kakuzu's room. Hidan saw her get up and leave and glared at her back. "What? No welcome home how was your day honey?"

Izumi ignored him and walked into her room as she placed the scroll in a drawer in one of the side tables and then collapsed onto the king sized bed as she let out another sigh. She hadn't even heard the door to the room open or close let alone any footsteps approach, but before she knew it, a pair of lips were resting on her own in an upside down kiss.

She smiled into the kiss as she cupped both sides of the face and ran her fingertips softly over the stitching on his cheeks. She had missed him, she'd admit that much. He had been gone nearly two weeks, maybe a little over, so how could she not?

When he finally pulled away she saw that familiar smirk on his lips. "Miss me?"

Not that she replied, she simply grabbed Kakuzu and pulled him on the bed as she took things a little further. Two weeks without him had been a long wait. She smiled at her thoughts; three years ago she had hated this man—wanted to kill him, now she had fallen for him and loved him.

It was an odd change of perspective but that's how it was.

"**Yeah, I missed you."** She said as she kissed him slowly, running her fingers over the stitches on his chest.


	5. Excitement, Deidara

The ground was littered with countless bodies, the battle far from over however. The fight wore on, the living joining the dead, and still the battle waged on. It had been nearly six hours of straight fighting but that wasn't to say that anyone really noticed. Everyone was more focused on trying to survive, to live, than what hour it was.

Despite the fatigue most people were feeling at this point, there was one person who was as lively as she had been from the beginning of all this. She danced around her enemies and cut them down as if it were no special feat. Although she had had a lot of trouble doing so in the start, now—with everyone getting tired of this—it was a lot easier for her to keep up with everyone.

She was by no means a prodigy in fighting. In fact, she was probably one of the worst fighters—she still had skill with a sword however—but it just wasn't her area of expertise. Now, as far as stamina goes, she had everyone beat. The girl seemed to have endless reserves of stamina making her a valuable ally. If she had the skill to go along with it she'd be a prodigy, but… unfortunately… she didn't.

She simply had a lack of skill to go with her endless stamina. Not really a phenomenon there…

Another half hour passed by, then an hour, still the girl fought on like she had from the beginning. True she felt a bit of fatigue—it was pretty much impossible not to when going through something like this—but she didn't feel it anywhere to the extent that most of the others were feeling it too.

Their attacks and parries were becoming sloppier as the day wore on and the girl knew that this wouldn't be able to go on much longer before one side caved in and the other took advantage. This battle was balancing on the edge of a knife and one slip could spell imminent doom for either side. All it would take is one mistake…

Just one.

Then it happened…

The fight that had been going on between the two leaders of both sides suddenly came to a crashing halt as the side the girl was fighting, their leader, killed the man that she had been following. At his scream of pain everyone stopped what they were doing to see what just happened and suddenly the side that had just lost their leader didn't feel as confident.

There was not time to waste though. The leader who had claimed victory ordered the immediate death of everyone not on his side and with the diminished spirits of the losing side; it didn't take long until the girl was the only one left.

The girl felt her heart pounding against her chest as she fell to her knees when someone had kicked her in the back of both her knees. She was panting, out of breath; this wasn't how she expected the turnout of this fight to go. As the leader approached her, wanting the final kill for himself, the girl practically saw death walking towards her.

The black cloak of smoke, the hooded face shrouded in the shadows, boney fingers of ash, and the menacing aura that followed. She was staring death in the face, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. All the excitement she had felt during the battle suddenly washed from her being. She no longer felt excited, no longer felt the thrill—the rush that fighting had brought to her.

No, she was scared.

The demonic smile of the enemy's leader sent chills down her spine and as he raised a sword with two hands above his head to cut her down. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists on her knees and she lowered her head and waited for the inevitable… but it never came…

After a moment or so passed, she opened her eyes and looked up to see everyone exactly as they had been when she closed her eyes but just as she was about to say something, everyone suddenly fell apart from their middle—all the people now cut in half as they collapsed to the ground with the same evil expressions.

Blood flew everywhere and coated the girl as the bodies now all lay dead before her. She started shaking as her eyes widened and there before her—a hundred meters back—stood nine people.

She recognized their cloaks however, if not their faces; they were the Akatsuki…

It had been a year since then, since that fateful day she met the Akatsuki. Had she known that they would have shown up and that that would have been the result of the battle, she never would have join in on the fighting. She would have declined Hashimata's—the leader vanquished by the enemy—offer had she known that would have been the turnout.

Though that was in the past now.

Inside the Akatsuki hideout, the girl stood, leaning, against the counter in the kitchen as she watched Konan cook lunch. She would have helped had Konan not turned down her offer but she just shrugged the matter away. If Konan wanted to cook all by herself then she could, the girl didn't matter.

"Penelo, you doing anything un?" A voice asked from behind the girl. She turned her head to look over her shoulder and saw the familiar face of Deidara standing behind her. She then turned around fully so that she was now facing him completely and gave a soft smile.

"**Nope, I got lots of free time right now."** Deidara then smiled back and asked her to come with him then.

Walking outside of the hideout with Deidara, Penelo wondered what it was that he wanted to show her. Of course, she couldn't come up with anything. Though she had a guess that it had to do with something that involved art… maybe…?

Since Penelo had met the Akatsuki that day a year ago, Nagato Pein—the leader of the Akatsuki—found an interest in her. Perhaps not for her '_skill'_ in swordsmanship but in her reserves of stamina. She was taken in to be a new member and with the help of Deidara, Hidan, and Itachi, she was taught how to fight well. True she still could use a little trimming around the edges but as far as her abilities went, she was doing _**much**_ better that when she first joined.

Compared to any ninja that wasn't S-ranked as a criminal, she was unmatched. Now as far as the Akatsuki members or Orochimaru and his band of weirdoes, she could use a bit more training. But she had come a long… long way.

Deidara led Penelo to a large clearing a little ways away from the hideout and then told her to close her eyes. She did so and he waved his hand in front of her to make sure before smiling and then forming a small dragon figurine out of his clay. After a few minutes passed he told her to open her eyes and she did so as he held the figuring in front of her.

Penelo stared in wonder and amazement at the very detailed little dragon figurine. What took Deidara only a couple minutes or so would have taken her forever to do. She smiled as he told her to take it and, gently, she did so.

She ran her fingers over the groves of detail and smiled half mindedly at how beautiful it was. Then, without warning, the little figuring crumbled in her hand and ribbons of light came streaming out—bright like small explosions—and wrapped around her as they picked her up. Everything then got really bright and as the light died away and Penelo opened her eyes to reveal her crystal blue orbs, she noticed she was sitting on the back of the dragon she had been holding only moments ago.

Only now the 'figurine' was huge!

Deidara then jumped up and landed on the dragon's back as he sat in front of Penelo and told her to hold on to him. She complied, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding onto him as she laid her head on his back and then the dragon took off, flying through the air.

Penelo let out a startled cry but Deidara only laughed and told her everything was fine. The dragon took off, flying around through the air in small and large circles and then flying straight as it headed for a large lake nearby.

Penelo's eyes—which had been shut tight—then opened as she looked around at her surroundings. Her eyes then grew wide and a broad smiled spread across her face as the wind blew her short light brown hair behind her.

The dragon then flew down to the lake and dipped it's feet in the water, leaving a line behind it that quickly disappeared. Penelo then felt her waist and arm being grabbed and soon found herself being swung around to sit in front of Deidara, her legs both on the left side of the dragon.

She looked into Deidara's grey blue eyes and he stared back into her crystal blue ones. Her hair was now blowing in front of her, but being short—around the length of her chin—it didn't blow in her face.

Feeling the slight pull of tension and the knot growing bigger in her stomach, Penelo soon found herself leaning in and pressing her lips to Deidara's. Fireworks went off in her head and it only built up her excitement at the moment as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he tightened his hold around her waist.

Their kiss deepened, their first kiss, and Penelo found it all so romantic as they continued to fly across the sky. In her mind she told herself that it took him long enough but on the outside she didn't say anything, she didn't want to ruin the moment. She wasn't going to ruin it.

She had waited a long time for this.


	6. Worry, Pein

The festival roared with life as hundreds of people were present and moving around. The throngs of bodies moved against and with each other as the festival wore on, little lanterns hanging from cords overhead and glowing like fireflies, stalls of games and promotional items lining the streets as people flocked to them like birds to bread. It was sort of funny, no one really got together like this unless it was something fun like a festival—like this.

Within the ocean of bodies, one girl stood apart from the rest. Unlike the many people around her, she was standing still, unmoving despite being brushed by other people as they past her. She stood firmly as she stared up at the night sky. Sure this was a day off for her from the constant bombardment of missions she got from the Akatsuki—being that she was a part of their organization—but she could help but feel a bit worried…

Pein—the leader of the Akatsuki—had gone on a mission he said he had to do by himself nearly two days ago and hadn't returned yet. He had said that it shouldn't take him longer than a day, maybe a day and a half, but no more… yet here everyone was—almost three days later—and he hadn't returned.

Something just didn't feel right…

Finally taking steps to go up to a nearby stall, the girl exchanged some money with the man behind the counter for one of the charms he was selling. It read "Luck" on the back and on the front was a picture of a mountain with oddly realistic detail.

"That charm there will bring ya good fortune if ya hang it over yer bed before ya go ta sleep, missy." The man behind the counter said.

**"Let's hope so,"** She replied with a smile before thanking the man and then walking away.

The streets were illuminated with lanterns, the streets glowing a pale orange as well as the people who walked underneath them. The girl walked a bit down one of the streets and then down a side alley as she took it up through the town and to a small hill that sat above the village and allowed her to have a bit of peace and quiet. Well, as much as one could get during a festival.

She sat down underneath the single cherry blossom on the hill as she stared at the bright glow of the village below. Everything—everyone seemed so happy, she wished they could be like that every day… yet they weren't. Once the excitement and thrill died away people would begin to go back to their normal routines, their fake smiles and bored attitudes.

Back to their melancholy lives.

"Sakuya, what are you doing up here? I thought you'd be down there having fun?" The girl turned around at the sound of the male voice and came to see Kisame standing behind her, his blue skin pale under the moonlight and a soft smile on his face.

The girl—Sakuya—let out a sigh and gave a tired smile. **"Oh, I'm just… I needed a break from all the excitement."** She said in an angelic voice. Then she turned her gaze from Kisame's and stared down at her lap as she rubbed her thumb over the charm she had bought back at the festival. And while her nonchalant attitude may have swayed other people, Kisame was a close friend and as such, he could read her easily.

She was lying… to a degree.

"You're worried aren't you?" Sakuya's gaze then snapped back to Kisame's and she stared at him for a moment before relaxing her tensed muscles.

**"I'm that easy to read, huh?"** She said as she tilted her head to the side. Kisame didn't answer her but instead walked closer and sat to her side as he stared out in front of them—the village still bustling with energy, not even realizing they weren't there.

"I wouldn't worry about him; he's the strongest of us, that's why he's the leader." Kisame said reassuringly "He'll be back before you know it." And with a wink, Sakuya found herself blushing a little for some odd reason. Then, clearing her throat in two short coughs, she attempted at changing the subject.

**"Aren't the others worried too?"** Kisame then chuckled.

"Not so much, they've all lived around Leader long enough to know he can take care of himself."

** "What about you?"**

"Me? Well, I'll admit that he's sure taking his time with this mission but I don't doubt that he'll come back in one piece." There was a slight tone in his voice as he said that that led Sakuya to believe that he wasn't fully telling the truth about how he felt on this matter but she didn't want to press the matter. After all, she had just gotten the pressure off her.

Just as Sakuya was about to say something else, she was interrupted—a familiar voice shouting at the two from behind them. "He's back!" Were the two simple words that came from the newcomer's voice. Sakuya craned her neck to the side just in time to see Konan running off in the direction of the Hideout, a happy look on her face. Sakuya felt her spirit rise considerably on the inside at the new information, but at the same time, her expression fell to one of sadness. Kisame saw the look and understood completely without even having to ask.

"You know," He said leaning in and whispering to her "You've only got so much time before it's too late. If you don't do something then it's never going to happen." Sakuya understood him perfectly and knew exactly what he was talking about as their eyes met but she just 'coughed' and stood up.

** "I don't have a clue what you're talking about."** She said in an uncaring voice **"Well, let's get back to the Hideout. I'm sure that with Leader back he'll want to see everyone."** Then she started walking off but not before Kisame saw a small trace of a smile peeking at the corner of her lips.

Back at the Hideout, Leader was there just as Konan had said, and what do you know; there she was standing next to him. Sakuya immediately snapped her gaze away from them, her maroon eyes looking elsewhere in the room.

Subconsciously, she found herself running her fingers over the large red ribbon that wrapped around her middle to hold her white kimono together. She had tucked the thin charm she had bought back at the festival underneath it for some reason, at this point in time, it was giving her a bit of comfort to just know that it was there.

She felt a bit silly for worrying so much about Leader, what was there to worry about? He was the great leader of this whole organization, the top dog so to say. There was nothing to stop him, no one that could kill him, what was there to worry about?

The more she told herself that, the more crestfallen she felt.

Sakuya, turned from everyone as they congratulated Leader on his mission and asked how it went, she didn't really want to be there. So, dragging herself to her room, she slumped on her bed and fell back against the pillows as she stared up at the ceiling.

Who was she kidding? Her having a chance with Leader; how sad a dream that was. She was fooling no one, she was simply holding onto false hopes. Maybe that was why she had bout the luck charm back at the festival, but what could superstitions do to help her out? Was God himself going to come down and help her out with all her troubles? Like she was something special…

No, she simply smiled sadly to herself as a single tear rode down her cheek. Then, pulling out the charm and hanging it on the bedpost, she rolled to her side and stared out of her dark room to the single window to her left, the stars shining through it as well as the moon.

It wasn't long before she found herself drifting off into sleep, her dreams taking firm hold of her mind and filling it with ingredients of fantasies and hopes.

In the morning, Sakuya woke up to find herself tucked under her covers. Having not remembered getting under them, she pulled them back to get out of bed and found herself in her pjs. Her mind raced over last night to find any kind of recollection of her having gotten ready for bed before falling asleep but nothing came up. She had gone to sleep on top of her covers and still in her kimono last night.

A white object caught her eyes and, turning her head, Sakuya saw her kimono and ribbon hanging in her open closet—completely put away. Her face twisted into a thoughtful frown as she wondered who had dressed her and tucked her in. Then the thought of Hidan popped into her head and a chill ran up her spine at the thought of that pervert touching her body. But shaking her head she told herself that it wasn't him, Hidan wasn't nice enough to do something like that.

Unless for personal… physical gain…

Her bedroom door opened a moment later and Pein walked into the room with an expressionless mask on his face, one she couldn't read. "Ah you're awake." He said as he walked over to her and sat on her bed next to her. "I hope you don't mind but I came to check on you last night and found you asleep in your festival clothes. So I changed you for bed and tucked you in."

** "Y-you… did that?"** Sakuya said in disbelief.

"Well it was the polite thing to do." He replied flatly and she felt more crestfallen than she had last night at those words.

**"Oh."** Was her simple reply before looking to her side, out of the window, to see the grey sky—it matched her mood. Leader then grabbed underneath her chin and turned her face so she was looking at him.

"Was that not okay?" Her face then started to turn a deep pink at his closeness.

** "N-no, it's fine. I-I had just been hoping t-that it hadn't been Hidan to do it."** She replied sheepishly, giving a nervous smile. Pein then smirked at her as he saw the blush on her cheeks.

"Kisame told me that you were pretty worried about me." He said in more of a statement than a question. Sakuya found herself then prying her face from his grip as she held the now tomato red blush that had flared up on her cheeks away from his gaze.

**"H-he told you that?"** She asked in a shaky voice.

"Sakuya…" Leader said as he placed a finger under her chin again and made her look into his eyes, brushing a loose strand of her long black hair behind her ear. "Why so shy all of the sudden?" He asked before leaning in and kissing her lips. Something she hadn't expected _**at all**_.

The minute that passed by seemed like seconds before Pein pulled away and looked at her, their faces still close to each other. Sakuya then found herself asking—without thinking—about how Konan would feel about what he just did. Leader just chuckled as a smirk came across his face.

"Whoever said I liked Konan that way?"

Sakuya then found herself feeling incredibly stupid, she hadn't thought of that. She just assumed that since Konan liked him, they were going to be together. It was that sort of thinking though that stopped her from seeing the signs Pein had been leaving her over the last year.

She had been with the Akatsuki for nearly five years now, though her skill in battle—her ability to decipher situations quickly—didn't apply in situations like this. She hadn't seen it coming, and mentally she laughed to herself about that.

Pein's next words rung clearly in her head though, jolting her from her stupor. "I thought girls were supposed to see this stuff coming a mile away?" Sakuya laughed.

** "Well not this girl."**


	7. Melancholy, Kisame

"One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three…" Her movements were graceful, her steps accurate and her concentration precise. "One, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three…" she repeated over and over as she moved. Her wrists flicked in strange movements and her hands and fingers moved as the two long ribbons tied around her waist danced in circles around her. Her dress flew and moved around her body, the ends dissipating as if made of smoke. She was standing in the middle of the ocean, close to the shore of the beach, but far enough to where it was just a speck of land sitting on the horizon. Her platinum blonde hair, longer than the length of her body, flew gracefully around her and caressed her shoulders and face before falling behind her shoulders as she would turn the other way. She danced and twirled in circles and every time she did, the water underneath her started to lift her higher and higher, ribbons of the liquid dancing around her as well as she controlled them. Her silver eyes were shut but the few times she opened them, they glistened as the moon shone in them.

"Take this from me, this burden. Fill my soul because it's hurting. Calm my spirit, it's dying. Rid me of these tears that I'm crying. Come back to me, come back. Don't leave me here with this lack. Who are you that haunts my dreams? With your skin so blue it seems. I'm lonely here on my own. What are these visions that I am shown?" she said as she continued dancing on the water's surface. "Mother, father, you've left me not a clue… what is it that I am supposed to do? I'm lost, in this darkness I cannot see. It's too deep and the questions baffle me…"

Were anyone to ask her why she always spoke in rhyme, she would not be able to answer. It was how she had always spoken, how she had always been taught. The question she would ask you in turn would simply be—in a simplified way—why didn't you? The lack of rhyme seemed undesirable to her. Even her parents hadn't spoken like she did, they didn't even raise her to talk as such, but it was how she talked now regardless of what anyone thought.

Waking up with a jolt, Shinami sat up and looked around the darkness of her room. That was the second time this week she had had that same dream. It was of her, she knew that—the memory was as clear as day in her mind—but it was why she kept remembering it that baffled her. True, it was a long time ago that she had had the free time to dance on the water's surface and feel the cool liquid caress her bare feet, but she didn't know why she longed so much to be close to the water.

Running her slender fingers through her platinum blonde hair, Shinami looked over to the sleeping figure next to her and smiled before kissing his head and then getting up out of bed. Her hair flowed down to the ground and dragged quietly behind her on the carpeted floor as she walked to the door. Opening it softly she exited the room and made her way towards the kitchen for a glass of water. Her nightgown seemed to glow under the rays of the moon that shone through the windows. It was a long nightgown that reached down to a little above her ankles and it was long-sleeved, with loose ruffles on the cuffs on the sleeves down by her hands. It was also a pale blue, her favorite color, and it fit her perfectly—not too loose and not too tight.

As she reached the kitchen, she filled a gleaming glass full of crystal clear water and drank it appreciatively. It wasn't until the creak sounded right behind her that she spun on her heels to be caught in the eyes of the man she had left sleeping in her bed. His white eyes bore into her and his blue skin seemed oddly divine in the uncertain light. He was shirtless, having just gotten out of bed moments ago—all the more reason Shinami had to pry her eyes away and bite her bottom lip as she thanked the heavens that he couldn't see her blush in such a pale light.

The man then rubbed the back of his head as he yawned, clearly not used to waking up at two in the morning. "Are you okay Shinami?" He asked "What are you doing up so early?" She simply flashed him a smile that he had a hard time seeing before she replied.

"Just getting something to drink, a dream woke me up. Go back to bed Kisame, I'll be there shortly." Now there she didn't rhyme, but that was partially due to the man standing in front of her. When they had met, he'd been a little baffled by her talk and so tried to teach her to talk regularly. At first she'd been stubborn and found it all obnoxious and tedious—boring and unimportant, but over the course of a couple years she found that there was a lot of freedom in not rhyming. She didn't need to talk so strangely just so that her speech matched at the ends, and she found it very convenient. Although, she still had her moments when the rhyming would come back but it wasn't too often anymore.

For the most part, it was all stuff that just made her feel melancholy, it wasn't important. She had no feeling towards it anymore. If she talked one way and then switched in another instant, it didn't bother her. Perhaps it bothered the other members of the Akatsuki but…

She didn't care.

Kisame flashed Shinami a smile bore nodding and then heading back off to bed, his feet dragging on the floor as he did so. Shinami waited a bit, staring out a window across from her, and admiring the dark scenery. That dream was still stuck in her head, she didn't know why but it was. It's not like it was an important memory. Before she had joined the Akatsuki five years ago she had done a lot of midnight dancing on the water's surface, heck, she still did it now every so often. Perhaps not as much, but she still did.

Then it suddenly hit her; it wasn't what had happened _then_ exactly, but maybe it was what happened after. Shinami remembered that that had been her most passionate dance she had done up to that point and when she had stopped, she had seen someone on the beach far in front of her, watching her and moving their hands—most likely clapping. At first Shinami had been embarrassed and a little scared, but a closer look revealed that all of the Akatsuki had been watching her—and later she had found out they had been looking for her. But the one who had been clapping was… Kisame. Of course Tobi had been doing the same but it didn't mean as much since he clapped basically about everything!

Shinami smiled at that though and let out a soft giggle before setting the glass in the sink and then walking back to the bedroom where Kisame was. They had been dating for almost two years now, sure they had their bumps along the road and they didn't always agree but that was life. She coped with it as did he and they both saw each other's differences as good things, were they exactly the same in everything there would be no excitement to the relationship. Sure they both shared a lot in common but not everything, they had quite a bit that they both saw differently.

Opening the door back up to Kisame and her room, she saw his silhouette under the covers and his chest rising and falling with his even breathing. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth as she made her way over to the bed and crawled under the covers at the opposite side of Kisame. She turned to her side, facing away from him, and stared at the wall with her right hand underneath the pillow, supporting her head. It wasn't until about a minute later that she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and then she was pulled close against Kisame's chest as he held her.

Kissing her neck, Kisame then wished Shinami sweet dreams before closing his eyes and going to sleep—or at least, almost getting to sleep. Shinami turned herself around in his arms and stared at his face, or at least what she could see of it in the darkness. He opened his eyes to look at her, the moon shining through the window gently caressing her face so he could see her much better. She flashed him that sweet smile of her's before cupping his face with her right hand and softly rubbed her thumb over his cheek.

It was almost like the world faded from both their perceptions and it was just each other that they were focused on. And a moment later, Kisame pulled Shinami closer as he kissed her lips with a longing love that she hadn't experienced before. True, they've kissed before, but not like this. It was almost like Kisame was pouring out all his love for her in this one moment and Shinami was feeling the fireworks of it.

When he finally pulled away, allowing Shinami to breathe, he kissed her forehead before staring back into her eyes. She began to trace circles over his chest which sent shivers up his spine in a pleasurable way. He saw the look in her eyes, that desire, and knew what she was thinking. A smirk then crossed his features—not that she saw—and before she knew it, he was on top of her. She smiled in a cute way that made Kisame just want to kiss her over and over again and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

They were about to share a moment that only they could experience.

An intimate and passionate one.


End file.
